Advice for New Students
Your Health
It is important that all students arriving in the country to study should have medical and travel insurance, which will cover you for medical treatment.
National Health Treatment.
The following treatment is free for everyone:
- Emergency treatment (but not follow-up treatment)
- Treatment of certain communicable diseases
- Compulsory psychiatric treatment
If your course is for six months or more you will qualify for the National Health Service (NHS) from the beginning of your stay on the same basis as anyone who is ordinarily resident in the UK. If your course is shorter than six months in duration, you will not be entitled to NHS hospital treatment, except in emergencies. Doctors may agree to treat you free, but this will usually be limited to urgent treatment that cannot be delayed until you return home. You will have to pay for any other treatment as a private patient.
Doctors
Register with the doctor nearest to your accommodation, ask your host family with whom they are registered and speak to them. A list of local doctors is available from Student Services (B63). We would advise you to register with the doctor on arrival and not to wait until you need to see one.
Your Money
Before you leave home speak to your bank for advice on running a bank account in the UK. Find out what methods of transferring money are available and also what the costs will be. Your home country may have a connection with a bank in the UK and may be able to help you to set up an account in the UK. Also ask if you can use your cash card from your home country in the UK to withdraw money from your home country bank.
As soon as you can after arrival we recommend that you open a bank account so that your money is safe. The main banks are in Colchester town centre.
Financial Aspects/Benefits
If you are not a European National, the Immigration Rules state that you must be in a position to accommodate and support yourself during your stay in the UK without working or applying for welfare benefits from the UK Government. As a rule your passport will be stamped ‘no recourse to public funds'.
Council Tax
Exemption from Council Tax liability relates to a property and not to a person.
A full-time student is a student undertaking a full-time course, which is one that lasts for at least one academic year. The student is normally required to attend for at least 24 weeks a year and at least 21 hours a week.
A part-time course that is 16 guided learning hours a week or less does not qualify a student for Council Tax exemption and to all intents and purposes the student is classified as a ‘non-student'. For example, students studying English as a Foreign Language at Colchester Institute are registered as part-time students. If there is one or more ‘non-student' living in a property with a full-time student or students, then the property is not exempt from liability for Council Tax. Students will not be counted when Council Tax Benefit is calculated if they are living with people claiming Income Support.
- Full-time students who are joint tenants of a property with a ‘non-student' will be equally liable for payment of the Council Tax bill.
- Full-time students can obtain Council Tax exemption certificates from the Registry at Colchester Institute from mid October.
- Further clarification of the council tax laws can be sought by contacting the Council Tax Offices at Colchester Town Hall.
Asylum and Studying
If you are in receipt of Income Support or any other means tested benefit you will receive concessionary fess when enrolling, you will have to pay the fee for Colchester Institute membership if over 19.
If you have been given ‘exceptional leave' by the Home Office and would like to study full or part-time, the College will charge you the home student fees. If you are a spouse or child of someone given the above rights, this will also apply to you.
You are not automatically entitled to student support - only if you have been a resident for more than 3 years before the start of the course and as long as you have not been in full-time education.
Employment in the UK
You normally enter the UK on a student visa or a visitor's visa. With a visitor's visa you are not allowed to work, either paid or unpaid. With a student visa you can work up to 20 hours a week during term time and any number of hours out of term. Please be aware that if we find you are working too many hours and this begins to interfere with your studies, e.g. you are too tired, we may ask you to stop working, or even leave. Also please note that you are allowed to work as a means of extra money and not as a means of living in the UK.
You will need to apply for an National Insurance number. You can do this by obtaining a letter from the INTERNATIONAL OFFICE (B63) and make an appointment to go to the ‘Job Centre Plus'. It is advisable to ask which documentation they will need to see.
